George Harrison made many close friends in the music industry. The Beatles guitarist had close relationships with Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan, found inspiration from Ravi Shankar, thought Led Zeppelin was incredible, and continued working with Ringo Starr when the Fab Four broke up. Yet the youngest Beatle wasn’t all about peace and love. Here are four musicians George hated, including one artist he worked with in the 1980s.
1. George Harrison hated Neil Young’s singing
The so-called quiet Beatle’s restrained demeanor hid a sharp wit and opinionated personality. George Harrison was painfully honest at times, so he didn’t hide his hatred for Neil Young and his music. And honestly, his complaint about Young’s music is one many other music fans share.
During a 1992 recording session with Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof (via YouTube), George lays into Young, saying, “I hate it. Yeah, I can’t stand it.” Young’s singing voice is an acquired taste, and George calls out his lack of vocal talent. At the very least, he did with a heavy dose of self-deprecating wit, saying, “[H]is singing is even worse than me.”
2. George didn’t like Oasis even though they sounded similar to The Beatles
The Gallagher brothers — Liam and Noel — became international pop stars in the 1990s with their pop-tinged hard rock in Oasis. The band drew comparisons to The Beatles by name-dropping Fan Four tunes such as “Yellow Submarine” and “Let It Be” in their music. It didn’t hurt that Liam’s singing voice sounded eerily similar to John Lennon’s.
George didn’t like Liam Gallagher’s singing voice and believed Oasis would be better off without him. When he said as much to the media, the singer threatened to punch George in the face. So, in addition to a similar singing voice, it seems Liam Gallagher also shared John’s penchant for making brash statements to the press.
3. The Beatles’ guitarist worked with Elton John but didn’t love his music
George penned witty and sharp political songs (“Taxman”), tunes tinged with Indian influences (“Love You To” and “Within You Without You”), and heavily psychedelic pieces (“Blue Jay Way” and “It’s All Too Much” ) with The Beatles. In short, he could never be pegged to one style as a songwriter.
George hated Elton John’s music because it sounded like he made it according to a formula. Still, that didn’t stop the guitar player from calling the best of the best for some help on an album. Elton appears on three songs — “Cloud Nine,” “Devil’s Radio,” and “Wreck of the Hesperus” — on George’s 1987 Cloud Nine album that broke a five-year hiatus from solo work for the ex-Beatle.
4. George hated the Sex Pistols and punk music in general
The Beatles completely shook things up in the world of pop music in the early 1960s. Punk rock came and throttled the establishment in the late 1970s. The Sex Pistols were one of the most visible and definitely the most in-your-face punk acts of the era.
Their attitude hid a musical deficiency that made George dislike the Sex Pistols — their lack of melody. They played with bravado, but melody and sharp musicianship wouldn’t show up on the Pistols’ CV. We’re not shocked George disliked punk rock’s general melodic deficiency. After all, The Beatles were masters of crafting catchy tunes for their entire career.
He liked plenty of contemporary artists — he said he was madly in love with Smokey Robinson — but George Harrison hated some musicians and didn’t hesitate to say so.
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